Hell and High Water
by Ahja Reyn
Summary: pirate!NaruSasuNaru. Kidnapped for an ability he does not possess, Sasuke Uchiha is swept into an adventure that has him leaving his old beliefs behind and questioning his future.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Hell and High Water  
**Author**: Reyn**  
Rating**: M16**  
Disclaimer**: Anything you recognize from the Naruto-verse is Kishimoto's. Everything else is mine.**  
Warnings**: AU because this is a pirate story, and yaoi elements that may or may not focus on Naruto and Sasuke.**  
Author's Note**: I…am a not-so-closeted pirate fan. So it was only natural that a pirate theme would eventually make its way into something I wrote…in an epic fashion. I just hope I can push my talent hard enough to make this as awesome to all you readers as it is in my head.

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**Chapter 1**

The smell of cooked meat and steamed vegetables permeated the summer air as dinnertime approached, causing many of those who worked at the harbor of Konoha to hurriedly finish their shifts and make their way to the source of the aroma - The Peg Leg. As the door continuously swung open and the clamor increased, one would assume Konoha's liveliness was all by the riverside. But despite being labeled as a port town on any map, Konoha was far enough upriver to avoid troublesome world affairs such as piracy or foreigners in general and managed to exist as a relatively peaceful place.

The land was plenty fertile, leaving the locals with little desire to trade when it came to supporting their livelihoods. That's what the villages further downstream were for. Crimes such as local theft and murder were also practically nonexistent in the area thanks to the Uchiha family's ability to see into history. While this led to an almost lazy pace of life, surprises rarely happened due to the Hyuuga family's occasional luck in seeing the future.

This would explain why Sasuke Uchiha felt a little floored when Hinata Hyuuga, a woman he honestly preferred not to discuss with others seeing as how he had no excuse to call her anything less than a friend, whispered across the table in the crowded pub that her cousin, Neji Hyuuga, was not only alive, but somewhere in Konoha as well.

Neji had supposedly drowned at the age of fifteen when trying to prevent the same fate from happening to a kitten. Even as a boy, Sasuke found the idea of dying over such a thing ludicrous. However, no body had ever been found, so while the concept of him being alive was possible, the time difference of seven years made it highly improbable as well.

Setting down the mug that had been hovering between his mouth and the wooden table, Sasuke folded his hands before him and leaned forward. "You want to run that by me again?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"He's here and he wants to see me," Hinata answered confidently, despite blushing and looking away from Sasuke's intense stare.

"He…_wants_?" Sasuke was both skeptical and perplexed. As far as he knew, the Byakugan of the Hyuuga family was objective, giving them a way to merely view events of a future that was definite. Just like the Uchihas, they could only observe; sensing intentions was surely out of the equation.

Sasuke looked down at the folded note that Hinata silently pushed towards him and picked it up. Upon opening and beginning to read it, he discovered the note to actually be a letter from Neji.

Oh. Well that explained a lot.

Seeing that Hinata's sudden confidence came from a mere letter and not her Byakugan made much more sense and caused Sasuke to relax a bit. The reason for this being that neither of them had yet to gain their respective Sight despite being on the brink of twenty years of age – the root behind their budding friendship throughout the years regardless of their families' barely cloaked hostility towards one another.

While Uchihas were typically known to get their Sharingan at some point during puberty, Sasuke had found himself on the tail end of his teens with his eyes still just as dark as the day he was born. Being the only Uchiha of his age group, there were whispers of explanation amongst the elders that life was simply too peaceful for Sasuke to gain what was his inherent birthright, leaving most of his relatives to brush him off as one of the few inept family members who were doomed to never gain their Sharingan at all.

Hinata, on the other hand, had been born with her Byakugan as a proper Hyuuga was expected. However, her visions of the future were borderline nonexistent, leaving much of her family to believe she was either too lazy or too weak to become of much use to anyone.

Despite coming from the rival family, Sasuke did not approve of such views aimed towards someone he felt a connection with. As a result, he became somewhat close to Hinata, ignoring the disapproval from both his and her families.

Meetings like this, however, did not take place often if at all. The Peg Leg was a popular pub for visiting sailors and those who worked the docks, making it the perfect location for anyone who wanted to get away from the town's watchful eyes, if only for a few hours.

After taking the time to read the note, Sasuke set it down and returned his arms to their previous folded position and allowed his family's investigative training to take over.

"You do realize this could be a fake, right?" he asked, making no attempts to sound sympathetic or soothing to his companion.

Hinata shrunk back a bit but shook her head, her long, straight black hair swishing a bit at the action. "It's not," she insisted.

"How do you know?" Sasuke challenged.

Frowning, Hinata reached out and took the letter back, gazing at it in a way that made it perfectly clear to Sasuke that the admiration she held for her older, long lost cousin had not faded with time.

"It was slipped into my bag while I was at the market today. No one from my family knows about this."

"That doesn't make it real, that makes it a trap," Sasuke stated, taking a sip from his drink.

Hinata clutched the letter to her breast. "It talks of things only Neji and I know about. The location to meet is where we used to take walks and play together. It is written in Neji's handwriting. It doesn't get any more real than this. He's _alive_, Sasuke!"

Sasuke stared hard at the parchment, willing the Sharingan he didn't have to show him the past of the letter in hopes that he might see any truth to Hinata's words, but it was a fruitless and disappointing effort.

"If he's really alive, why all this secrecy? Why doesn't anyone else in your family know about this? Surely someone must have seen this coming," Sasuke said as he leaned forward in his seat.

Looking crestfallen, Hinata put the letter down on the table, her hands still covering it as she leaned forward as well. "You know perfectly well that he scorned my family. He could have faked his death all those years ago just to escape! And with his talent, he could have made it possible to not be seen by the Byakugan."

Sighing at the truth in his friend's words, Sasuke looked off to the side to give himself a break from staring into Hinata's pale yet determined eyes. In the corner near the doorway sat two unfamiliar men, one of whom was staring at him despite being huddled in conversation with his companion. Sasuke watched them for a bit, judging them to be sailors based on their worn style of dress. When the one sailor realized the look Sasuke was giving him wasn't something in passing glance, he winked and puckered his lips, blowing kisses in Sasuke's direction.

Drawing back in offense and disgust, Sasuke glared at the man, ordering his nonexistent Sharingan to retrace the man's steps to the boat he came off of, but as expected, nothing happened.

Giving up, Sasuke returned his attention to the conversation at hand and motioned his head to the letter. "So, if you can't go to your family with this, why come to me? Do you want me to ask my brother to look around the marketplace? See if he can find any traces of Neji?"

Hinata shook her head. "I'm already sure it's Neji."

"If you didn't see him specifically, then how do you _know_?" Sasuke demanded, scowling in frustration.

"It's…" Hinata hesitated for a moment, struggling to think of a way to put what she wanted to say into words. "It's just a feeling I have. Not like the ones sometimes linked to the Byakugan, but something in my gut. I just _know_ without needing to question it."

Sasuke scoffed at the explanation.

"Besides, even if you asked Itachi to look for anything, there wouldn't be enough time," Hinata dismissed. "I'm meeting Neji tonight, when the moon is at its highest."

"That's when thieves are most active; Hinata, how are you not seeing a potential trap in any of this?" Sasuke asked, concern masked by anger tainting his voice.

Hinata looked down ashamedly, but refused to be dissuaded. "I'm not asking you to accompany me. I'm telling you because I really feel like you're the only person I can trust with this."

Sasuke let out an irritated sigh. "Fine. I'll accompany you."

"W-what?" Hinata stuttered in surprise. "I just said you didn't-"

Sasuke waved her off. "Even in the unlikely event that I'm wrong and you're right, you still run the risk of bumping into thieves and the like when wandering out by yourself at that hour."

Hinata stared at him for a moment before hesitantly pointing out the obvious. "I don't think your being there would be enough to actually stop me from getting robbed."

"Maybe," Sasuke reluctantly admitted with a scowl. "But it _will_ be enough to stop you from getting raped."

Not used to hearing such a crude word being said in her presence, Hinata blushed and ducked her head. "Th-that won't happen," she stated quietly.

"And how do you know?" Sasuke had a feeling he was the only person in town with enough guts to question a Hyuuga on such an obvious statement.

"Because I trust in Neji." Was the equally obvious – yet unexpected – answer.

Sasuke scoffed, taking another sip of his drink. "You shouldn't trust a man who faked his own death," he muttered.

"Why? Because you don't believe in running away?" Hinata challenged, her averted eyes making it seem as if this was the first time she had ever stood up for herself.

Frowning at the words that were meant to be an attack, Sasuke pushed his mug back and placed several coins on the table. "No," he responded as he stood, indicating their time together was up. "Because such men always have something to hide – especially from their loved ones."

The implications of his pointed look were not lost on Hinata, who silently got up from her chair and followed Sasuke out the door.

The moon was nearly at its highest and Sasuke was practically dead on his feet as he made his way down the cobblestone road around the side of the Hyuuga complex to where he was supposed to meet Hinata. Sasuke had a feeling she would leave regardless of if he was there or not to accompany her and had stayed up the entire night to ensure he didn't oversleep as a result. Not the best of ideas for someone who woke up at the crack of dawn to train with his brother on a regular basis.

Despite Hinata's timid countenance, Sasuke was one of the very few people who was more than familiar with her stubborn streak. She would make quite the wife to whomever had the guts to contend with her father for her hand in marriage.

Sasuke had a feeling such a trait had been encouraged by Neji when they were younger. While he never knew him all that well, Sasuke had often heard the villagers talk about what a stern yet kind man Neji had been growing up to be, always doting on Hinata despite their differences.

The one memory Sasuke did clearly have of Neji was from shortly before his death. He had been out with Itachi, doing some basic training in hand-to-hand combat when he had noticed the Hyuuga standing near the tree line, simply watching them.

Noticing his younger brother's distraction, Itachi had turned around and partially shielded Sasuke from Neji's view. "Whatever it is you want, couldn't it wait until after breakfast?" he had asked in a polite tone.

"I'm simply observing," Neji had replied, his own voice equally polite.

For some reason, the answer hadn't sat well with Itachi and his shoulders had stiffened.

"Why?" Itachi had questioned, causing Neji's gaze to move to Sasuke.

"I never doubt my Byakugan, but sometimes I prefer to physically see for myself just how some events may come to be." He had spoken with the same mystical, airy way that most Hyuugas did when it came to things such as fate and the future, but his eyes, rather than holding pity for the world around him, had been alight with amusement.

While it had been perfectly clear Neji was referring to Sasuke, neither Uchiha had any idea what the Hyuuga was actually talking about, and so Itachi had asked him to leave.

Thinking back now, Sasuke had a feeling Neji had seen this wayward friendship coming.

A tap on his shoulder startled Sasuke and he looked down to find Hinata standing next to him, her normal pastel colored dresses swapped out for an oversized dark brown jacket that looked as if it belonged to her father.

Even in the darkness of night her reddened cheeks were visible at the look Sasuke was giving her. "I don't own anything suitable for sneaking out in," she explained.

"And sneaking into your parents' room to steal a jacket was the solution to that problem?" The sarcasm was heavy in Sasuke's voice.

Wrapping her arms around her torso defensively, Hinata stared down at her shoes. "It's my uncle's," she sniffed, moving around Sasuke to head to the forested area behind the Hyuuga complex.

Remaining silent until they were well into the woods, Sasuke kept his voice quiet as he frowned at a raised root that almost managed to trip him. "Remind me exactly where we're going again?" he asked, not at all happy that he was stuck bumbling through underbrush as Hinata moved through it in an almost childlike frolic.

"There's a small brook where Neji and I used to go to hide and play when we didn't want to do our lessons anymore," Hinata replied simply before laughing quietly. "Granted, I usually ended up being taught something regardless. Neji was always so far ahead that his lessons bored him, and since I was always behind, he'd find ways to teach me that were easier for me to understand."

Biting back the comment that the impromptu lessons couldn't have been all that helpful if she was still this weak, Sasuke decided to focus on a different aspect of the conversation. "Why did he leave?" he asked, humoring the notion that they weren't walking into a trap.

The question seemed to sadden Hinata, but she answered it regardless. "Because his Byakugan was so advanced, he tended to…" she struggled to find the right word, "…rebel against the family's ways. I think our elder was scared of the talent Neji had and set an example for the rest of us to simply ignore it and hope that by treating him no different he would understand and accept his place within the family."

"And that tactic obviously didn't work," Sasuke stated, pushing aside a low branch.

"I think there was a chance for it _to_ work, otherwise someone would have seen the terrible outcome," Hinata corrected, taking a moment to look around before altering their course slightly.

Scowling, Sasuke followed. "If no one saw it coming, then…?"

"A short while before Neji disappeared, he told me there were ways to hide seeing what could be an absolute future that centered around an individual from the Byakugan. He never gave me the details and as far as my family believes, such a tactic doesn't exist." Hinata slowed in her steps as she got lost in her memories. "It's because of things like that Neji was eventually banned from being my tutor."

"Leaving him to go and fake his own death so that he wouldn't have to put up with your family anymore," Sasuke concluded, ignoring the frown Hinata gave him.

"Yes. And it succeeded because he knew we would accept the evidence as is without asking for your family to look further into the matter," Hinata responded a bit coldly.

Allowing silence to once again fall over them as his form of apology, Sasuke didn't share the fact that the several days that followed Neji's death marked the start of his daily attempts at forcing his Sharingan into existence. In the past, it had been said a traumatic event was normally needed to activate the Sharingan and Sasuke had been unable to understand why the death of someone he knew wasn't enough to trigger his Sharingan.

He had spent most of his free time down by the river's edge where witnesses had said Neji had drown, trying to see just what had transpired for someone so strong to die so easily. Eventually he had been found by his brother, who took the time to look into the past Sasuke had tried so hard to see. Itachi hadn't told him what he had found, however, thanks to Sasuke's stubborn insistence that he didn't want to know; he had just been curious.

In hindsight, it probably would have been wiser if he had let Itachi tell him so that he wouldn't be in this predicament of not knowing what was ahead of them now.

Even though Sasuke still had yet to gain his Sharingan, his situation was similar to what Hinata's once was in the sense that he had an older family member to look out for him. For him, he had Itachi. While the Uchihas were infamous for their ability to see the past through swirling red eyes, they only used it when necessary, having long since known that to constantly rely on their Sharingan would lead to blindness of the present. There were several older aunts and uncles Sasuke knew of whom had slow reaction times due to no longer being able to see things as they were occurring, doomed to be stuck in a state of living anywhere from several seconds to several minutes behind the rest of the world.

In order to fight such a fate, the family often employed more traditional methods of investigation before bothering to use their Sharingan. Clues were used to help them pinpoint a more exact time frame that they would need to look for with their Sharingan in order to focus on whatever event may have transpired.

Itachi had taken such methods one step further when training with Sasuke, teaching him how to use them not only in the way the rest of the family did, but to also unearth clues that would help him solve entire cases without the use of the Sharingan at all.

Unfortunately, Sasuke was still waiting on the chance to employ his training. His family refused to send those in need of assistance his way, often giving him simple chores to do instead such as guard the prisoners until the marines arrive, or entertain the guests until someone worthy had the time to listen to their plea.

Despite such dismal work, Sasuke knew he could never take a path similar to Neji's in order to just escape from a family that refused to properly accept your existence.

"We're almost there," Hinata whispered, her voice tinged with excitement as she clutched Sasuke's arm and pulled him to the side so that they could walk around a large clump of shrubbery together.

Sure enough, just on the other side of the bushes there was a decently-sized babbling brook that was split into a small waterfall not only by the sudden dip in terrain, but also by several large boulders that could be used for sitting and relaxing on a warm summer's day. And standing just above this child-sized waterfall on the other side of the stream was a male figure shadowed under a low overhang of branches, seemingly lost in gazing at the water.

"Neji!" Hinata cried happily, releasing her hold on Sasuke to rush towards the stream, picking up the hem of her jacket so that she could tip-toe across the rocks that acted as a natural bridge.

The figure looked up and waved, stepping forward just enough so that the branches no longer prevented the moonlight from hitting his face.

Sasuke squinted. The man vaguely looked like he could be Neji, but it was hard tell. Seven years had passed since Sasuke last saw him, leaving no definitive way for the Uchiha to feel positive he was looking at Neji aside from Hinata's exuberant enthusiasm.

A splash pulled Sasuke's attention back to Hinata as one of her feet slipped into the water in her rush to cross.

"Hinata, wait!" Sasuke called out, hurrying forward to jump from rock to rock to catch up to her. "Just because he has the same long dark hair Neji used to have and maybe the same nose doesn't mean-!"

The rest of what he had intended to say was cut off by a scream, piercingly sharp that echoed through the night air.

Sasuke's head snapped up just in time to see a second figure that had dropped down from the branches behind Neji thrust his arm forward, the long sword he was holding skewering Neji from his back straight through his stomach, the blood staining the weapon black as it shone grotesquely under the moon's glow.

For a moment, time stood still. Neither Sasuke nor Hinata seemed to be able to register the sight before them. Even the man who was supposed to be Neji looked to be in disbelief that there was a sword protruding from his stomach. But then as the sword was withdrawn and the victim raised his head, it flashed through Sasuke with startling clarity that this man _was_ Neji. The same person whom had forseen Sasuke's friendship with Hinata with amusement was now looking down at them almost apologetically.

Eyes slipping shut, Neji collapsed into the stream, the water's depth too shallow to do more than simply bubble angrily at him for blocking the way to the small waterfall.

A second scream from Hinata brought Sasuke back to his senses, making him aware of the danger they were up against.

Standing above the soon-to-be corpse was the killer, looking triumphant as he clutched what was presumably Neji's moneybag in his hand. The thief smirked as he noticed the shocked faces of the two staring at him and raised his sword to his lips, licking off some of the blood in a simple show of sadism.

Something in Sasuke snapped at the display and he rushed forward, no longer mindful of how wet his boots and pants got as he ran towards the murderer, a fury within him telling him to get back at that man, to make him undo what he had done.

The bandit naturally turned tail and ran, laughing at Sasuke's enraged cry as the Uchiha gave pursuit.

Hinata had been so devastated the first time Neji had disappeared. Sasuke knew only because he had been the one to help her smile again. Would it be possible for her to ever recover now? What right did this lowlife have to step in on such a reunion and take it away for a few shillings?

"Stop running!" Sasuke ordered as he was forced to leap over a clump of large rocks he barely saw in time to keep up with the man ahead of him.

"So you can rip my head off? HA! Not likely!" the bandit called back, performing an unusual display of acrobatics as he jumped up and grabbed a branch to swing over a clump of overgrown thistle that any normal person would have taken the time to go around.

Sasuke cursed and urged his legs to move faster, ignoring the way branches whipped and scratched at his face and pulled at his clothes. In his reading of the articles of recent thefts and murders his family kept, he had never encountered someone who possessed such amazing agility. But then again, the books tended to describe looks rather than talents and traits.

Sasuke would have loved to keep the killer talking so that he could recognize his voice later if his valiant chase failed, but his lungs were too preoccupied with trying to suck in enough oxygen for his body to keep up. The killer was quick and it was pure adrenaline that was enabling Sasuke to keep up.

It wasn't until the bandit made an about-face in his course of direction that Sasuke realized two things. One, his insistent pursuing truly had this other man panicked, and two, the thief was actually trying to go somewhere.

Sasuke was well-versed on criminals' hideouts in the forest; completely invisible to even the eyes of his family unless they were lucky enough to chance upon seeing someone enter such a place with their Sharingan. He knew this chase would be over in a heartbeat if the thief made it to his home base. And by the time Sasuke made it back to with his family in tow, the man would probably be long gone.

He couldn't let that happen. Not when the murder had taken place right in front of him. Not when the victim was someone so dear to his friend.

When the bandit made another sharp turn, Sasuke forced his aching body to keep up, despite the surprise at the scent of the earthy forest disappearing as he suddenly found himself running past buildings instead of trees.

They were back in Konoha. Was this person was a villager? Why else would he have run into town instead of away from it? Unless this man was an idiot. After all, who in their right mind dared to commit a crime in front of an Uchiha and expected to get away with it?

Something was amiss.

The wheels in Sasuke's mind started to turn with amazing focus as he continued to keep up with the stranger. While thieves and murderers typically haunted the woods surrounding any town, they usually stuck close to the roads and well-traveled paths. Neither he nor Hinata had crossed such areas; let alone wandered near them.

Had they simply chanced upon this man's hideout and rather than keep to himself like anyone with brains would do, the bandit had given into the temptation to steal a purse as fat as Neji's?

There were several things off with that theory; such as, why not attack Neji before more people showed up to witness the murder?

Barely rounding the corner of a building, Sasuke caught sight of the tail ends of the long bandana that was wrapped around the thief's head as well as the tip of his sword's sheath as he darted down another alley before Sasuke was struck with the most obvious revelation that caused his blood to run cold.

Long swords weren't the weapons of thieves.

The murder must have been intended from the beginning and in his foolhardy rage, Sasuke had left Hinata alone and defenseless with possibly more men hiding in the foliage surrounding the brook.

He had to go back and save her! What had he been thinking; leaving her alone like that?

Skidding to a stop, Sasuke's worries for Hinata disappeared as he found himself in an alleyway filled with menacing figures, all of whom leered at his arrival. Quickly assessing the situation, he counted five men, none of whom he recognized nor looked friendly in the slightest. Taking in the sight of crates and barrels littered about in a haphazard manner, Sasuke realized this was a dead end and the odds were not in his favor.

Spinning around to run away, Sasuke smacked into a hard body. Staggering several steps back, he realized this person was the one he had been chasing. Fear flooded Sasuke as the bandit walked forward, further cornering him in this ring of crooks.

How was he going to get to Hinata now? She might have been kidnapped already, or worse!

It didn't occur to Sasuke that this elaborate trap had been a set up targeting him until the blue eyes of the killer narrowed as a wide grin spread over his features.

"Sorry, Uchiha."

Something blunt hit the back of his head and as pain flooded his senses, Sasuke knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."_ -Mark Twain, US Author (1835-1910)

**Chapter Two**

Sasuke was fairly certain it was the throbbing in his head that woke him. The pain was surprisingly acute and as he rolled onto his side, he was forced to swallow back a wave of nausea. Once he was confident he wasn't about to throw up, he tossed his legs over the side of his bed and sat up, frowning at the way the air seemed to stick to his skin – an indication that he hadn't bathed the night before. The unfamiliar odors that assaulted him supported the theory.

Deciding it was far too early and that he was feeling far too sick to be concerned with matters like personal hygiene, Sasuke flopped back in his bed only to have the back of his head slam into a wall instead. Crying out in pain, he curled forward and clutched his skull, wincing at the bright lights that flashed before his eyes. Dizziness flooded his senses and the world gave a sudden lurch, pushing his nausea past the point of control.

Dropping to the floor, Sasuke's hand knocked over what sounded like a bucket. Thanking Fortune for the smallest of graces, Sasuke blindly scrambled for the pail, uprighting it just in time as his stomach lurched, forcing out as much of its contents as it could.

When he was done, Sasuke remained hovering the bucket, struggling to recover. His head was pounding in time with his heartbeat, but at least the queasiness was mostly gone.

A soft whine from several feet away alerted Sasuke to the fact that he wasn't alone. He groggily forced himself to look up, freezing almost immediately at what he saw.

There was a dog. A white, gigantic dog that was easily twice the size of any wolf Sasuke had ever seen. It stood up once it realized it had Sasuke's attention, tail wagging as if it were glad the Uchiha hadn't keeled over and died after puking his guts out.

Sasuke didn't dare move, and as the staring contest continued, the tail stopped moving. It took the dog several more seconds to realize nothing exciting was going to happen anytime soon before it decided to sit back down with a huff.

It was only then that Sasuke realized he was safe – the dog was behind bars in a metal cage. But as he looked up to try and see the dimensions of the cage, Sasuke realized something was wrong. The dog wasn't the one in the cage. He was.

_Or more accurately, I'm the one in _prison_,_ Sasuke mentally termed as he took the time to observe his confines in the dim lighting of predawn.

Feeling momentarily panicked, Sasuke did his best to recall just what he did to wind up in such a place. As the memories of what had happened probably only a few hours previous began to trickle forward, dread washed over him. He had been attacked! And captured! Where was he? And just who were his assailants?

Shoving the bucket away, Sasuke straightened out on all fours, frowning at the wooden floor as he struggled to fight discombobulation so he could figure out just what was going on.

It was the rhythmic creaking of the floorboards and the way the ground refused to stop swaying that caused the hopelessness to wash over him before his brain informed him why.

He was on a ship. A ship with a built-in prison, monstrous guard dog, and conveniently placed puke bucket. And judging from the smell of the air and cold humidity, the ship was probably out at sea as well.

Sasuke had never been to the ocean before. He had traveled as far as the beach, but had been too afraid at that age to actually venture out into the water.

He had heard of a few Uchihas who traveled the world on international cases every now and then, but they always returned home to the mainland looking worse for wear, their crimes often still unsolved.

"_The mainland is where an Uchiha belongs_," Sasuke could distinctly remember his father saying. "_Never chase your visions out to sea, boys. The Sharingan may be powerful, but the world is far larger still for such power to make any conceivable difference._"

Sasuke had never understood those words as well as he did now.

Hysteria began to bubble within him and he erupted in uncontrollable laughter. All his life he had wanted nothing more than to be a part of his family. To prove himself worthy of his father's time and attention. To show that he was just as good as all the other Uchihas even without the use of his Sharingan. And now here he was, kidnapped and out at sea, with no hopes of rescue and no one to rely on but himself.

_If wishes grew on trees…_

Laughter dying down, Sasuke felt far more clearheaded than before. Picking himself up, he dusted off his knees and sat down on the bench. Once settled, he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs and glared almost challengingly at the canine watching over him.

"Well?" he demanded.

The spoken question caused the dog – who had remained silent through the prisoner's momentary breakdown – to jump back up and begin barking furiously.

A bit shocked by the reaction he had received, Sasuke watched as the animal took off running down the corridor and off to some distant part of the ship, still barking up a storm. It wasn't until he could hear the thudding of boots approaching his cell did Sasuke wonder if maybe it had been a bad idea to intimidate the dog.

The animal reappeared before the owner of the shoes did, still yapping away as if the person wasn't approaching fast enough. Sasuke decided then and there that unless the dog possessed some ridiculously amazing talent other than being big, it was far more annoying than whatever it was worth.

"Quiet, Akamaru!"

The dog fell silent with an audible snap of its jaws and sat by the far wall.

The dim glow in the distance brightened and a lantern appeared, being carried by what Sasuke could tell to be a well-muscled arm despite it being covered by an oversized long-sleeved shirt. The torso that followed fit the arm to a 'T' and Sasuke easily guessed that this man was the muscle of the operation.

The lantern was held up against the bars and the man's head moved forward, giving Sasuke a better view of his face. Brown hair, brown eyes, there wasn't anything remarkable about him except for the two inverted red triangles tattooed down his cheeks.

For a moment they both simply stared, as if assessing one another. Finding nothing impressive about his captor, Sasuke grew bored and scowled at the man, wondering why the hell he was being peered at so intently. If the man wanted to watch him, why didn't he just do so when Sasuke had been unconscious?

"Kiba, you idiot, you forgot to grab his food." The gruff voice startled Sasuke, but Kiba's eyes remained glued.

"What, is he dead?" A large, hairy man appeared in the circle of light and Sasuke immediately noticed that his bulk and size was nearly twice that of Kiba. The theory of Kiba being the muscle of the group fell flat.

Kiba snorted. "Does he look dead to you?"

The buff man barely spared Sasuke a glance.

"No." He unhooked the keys from Kiba's belt to unlock the prison door. "He looks pale, scrawny, and calculating enough to try to undermine my size and your distraction for speed in a pathetic attempt at escaping."

A meal tray was placed on the floor and kicked over, stopping just short of Sasuke's foot. Liquid sloshed over the sides of a small metal tankard that was on the tray, soaking the food around it. Sasuke barely noticed. He was too busy discarding the idea of the buff man having muscles to make up for any lack of brain.

Kiba held his hand out for his keys, finally looking over at his companion. "Hey, did you see his eyes?"

Thick eyebrows went up in question. "What about them?"

Kiba went back to his staring. "Can you tell if they're red at all?"

Sasuke's own eyebrows very nearly rose as well.

A large hand rose and hit Kiba in the back of the head hard enough to make his face slam into the bars.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Kiba demanded, clutching his forehead as he whirled around to glare at his assailant.

"Do you stare into the eyes of a basilisk?" the other man demanded.

"No…"

"Then why would you look into his?"

A glance was cast in Sasuke's direction. "Because he's not a basilisk."

Sasuke snorted, causing Kiba to momentarily scowl at him. But the animosity was short-lived as Kiba returned his attention to the other man. Since his back was to the prison, Sasuke could only imagine the look the larger man was sporting. Whatever it was, it had Kiba deflating faster than an emptying sack of rice.

"Fine, whatever," Kiba sullenly relented. He stepped away from the bars and went to hang the lantern on the opposite wall.

The other man began to walk away. "Have I told you you're an idiot yet today?" he called over his shoulder.

Kiba followed. "Jesus, Asuma. It's still another three hours until dawn. Can't you hold off insulting me until then?"

Listening to the gruff laughter as it faded, Sasuke looked down at his meal of bread and fruit. Whoever these men were, they knew of the Sharingan. Angrily, Sasuke kicked an apple hard enough to send it skittering across the floor, coming to a stop at the dog's paw on the other side of the bars. Unfazed, the dog eagerly ate the treat.

Jumping to his feet, the Uchiha teetered a bit until he grew used to his sea legs before he began to pace back and forth.

He was such an idiot for falling into such a trap! Anyone with brains would have been suspicious from the second Neji hit the ground. No rogue thief or vagabond carried around long swords as weapons. Now Neji was dead – again – and Sasuke had been captured.

But why?

Running his hands through his hair, Sasuke took a deep breath and did his best to calm down.

It didn't work. He still felt the urge to punch something.

Frowning, he moved to the center of his cell and, ignoring the curious stare of the damn dog, started his usual morning routine of martial art techniques. With any luck, the physical exertion would help clear his mind enough to think straight.

As he worked his way from the Hunting Tiger to Dancing Dragons, his thought process settled enough to turn over the problem at hand.

These people obviously knew who Sasuke was on a level deeper than just his clan's name. Why else would they have gone through Hinata to get to him? Cursing his stupidity for a second time, Sasuke could only pray he had been the main target and that Hinata had been spared. If not…

His fist connected against the wall over the bench with a loud crack. Pain flared in his knuckles, but Sasuke was far too livid to care. If these men were merely mercenaries, they very well may have killed Hinata just to get her out of the way. Her death was now on Sasuke's hands and he would do all he could to avenge her.

As he resumed his training, a thought occurred to Sasuke in the midst of daydreams about hunting down and extracting revenge on everyone who was involved in this elaborate scheme. Who would have enough money to not only hire mercenaries, but have them ship him across the ocean?

He tried to think of anyone he may have pissed off over the years with the wealth to pull off such a plan, but aside from his own family and the Hyuugas, no one came to mind.

Sasuke spent some time entertaining the idea of the Hyuugas hating him enough to get rid of him. While the thought was nice in the sense that it meant Hinata was most likely still alive, he was forced to dismiss it in the end. Too many factors didn't add up, such as the Hyuugas caring enough about his existence to actually risk trying to get rid of him.

But who else would have known to use the connection between him and Hinata to get him alone? Unless Neji had been captured beforehand and tortured for information. But that still left Sasuke with the question of _Why me?_ He still had yet to inherit the Sharingan (he refused to be honest with himself that at this age, he may never get it), and while he made up for this handicap by increasing his powers of deductive logic and observational skills, he still had no outstanding talents that would make him worth anything to anyone outside of his family. Ransom, perhaps?

A low wolf whistle broke through Sasuke's concentration, startling him enough to carry through with a roundhouse kick, whirling around and stopping his foot inches away from Kiba's face.

As he lowered his leg, Sasuke wasn't sure what pissed him off more. The fact that there were no bars between himself and the other man; meaning Kiba had entered the cell unnoticed, or that he hadn't flinched when a boot to the head would normally seem almost inevitable.

"Good to see you're not completely defenseless," Kiba commented lightly. "That just means instead of keeping a pistol aimed at you, I get to tie you up instead."

The dog suddenly appeared beside Kiba, a pair of shackles hanging from its mouth.

"Thanks, boy."

Sasuke made no effort to resist as he was cuffed. He was still answerless after several hours of thinking and figured his best bet was to just go with the flow until the right opportunity arose for escape.

Hand on his arm with Akamaru following them, Kiba led Sasuke down the corridor and through what looked like the sleeping quarters.

"The captain doesn't want everyone trying to crowd the brig to get a look at you, so you get to visit everyone on deck instead." They stopped at the foot of a low stairway, where Kiba made Sasuke face him before leaning in and squinting in the dim lighting.

Quickly catching on, Sasuke frowned. "They're not red," he snapped, turning away to climb the steps himself. He refused to admit that while Kiba's strange curiosity was foolish, it was still embarrassing to have absolutely nothing to show for it.

From behind him, Kiba snorted. "Well there goes my ten shillings."

Sasuke was forced to stop at the top of the stairs as Kiba grabbed the back of his collar before reaching around him to open the door. For a moment, Sasuke was blinded by the early morning sun and he lowered his line of vision down to the deck where he could see a number of legs appearing around him as he was led through the crowd. Whistles and jeers began to sound.

"_That's_ an Uchiha?"

"How much would you say just his shirt is worth?"

"I was expecting something more…"

"But he's only a human."

"Does the captain know?"

"I wager the boots will fetch a nice amount."

With all the nonsensical talk going on around him, Sasuke finally looked up, hoping his glare hit whomever had talked about selling his clothes. What assaulted his sight was an array of men, all of them dressed in decent clothing that looked worse for wear. Despite the state of dress, no one held the haunted look of someone who had seen better days. In fact, they all seemed in tip-top shape beneath their less than clean cut appearances. As Sasuke took in the diversity of the mismatched bodies around him, it struck him with sparkling clarity that he was on a pirate ship.

Kiba's earlier words about him not being completely defenseless echoed in Sasuke's memory, causing a theory to form. Had he been sold off to a band of pirates?

Mind reeling at the idea, Sasuke could feel himself starting to panic. Desperately looking around for a way off the ship, a flash of golden blond hair caught his attention and he found himself looking into the same blue eyes from the night before.

"YOU!"

Blood rushing in his ears, panic transformed into rage, causing Sasuke to lunge towards the man who murdered Neji. The grip on his shirt slowed him only for a moment before Kiba let go with a cry of shock, clearly not expecting the sudden act of defiance. Various strong hands brought the attempted attack to an immediate halt, but Sasuke continued to struggle, determined to finish what had been started last night.

"Hey, Naruto! I think he likes you!"

The laughter that the statement caused only served to incite Sasuke further. The only thought in his head was to wrap his hands around that man's throat until his eyes rolled back from lack of oxygen. Gouging out vocal chords with his bare hands would be next.

The sharp push was completely unexpected and sent Sasuke toppling into the mast. Head ringing as it met with unyielding wood, Sasuke found himself in a momentary daze as he was forced to the ground. His arms were grabbed and the chain of his shackles locked into a hook above his head. He struggled for a moment, testing the strength of these new bonds before giving up when his legs were kicked out from under him when he tried pulling himself free with as much of his body weight as possible.

Panting for breath, he snarled as the blond – Naruto - dropped to one knee before him. A hand was braced against the mast next to Sasuke's head as Naruto leaned forward to get a good look at the captive.

A roguish grin broke out across his face. "Who knew an Uchiha could be so pretty?"

Sasuke spit in his face.

"Ugh! My eye!" the blond cried out, falling back while covering half his face.

Laughter went up around them and didn't stop even as a dagger appeared from Naruto's boot. Sasuke refused to flinch, ready to meet the threat head on only to watch Naruto get knocked aside in mirth.

Far more in favor of degrading their own crew member than gawking at a prisoner, Sasuke found himself to no longer be the center of attention. Using this to his advantage, he did his best to gather whatever information he could about his surroundings.

Judging from the things loudly being said about Naruto, he held about as much respect as Kiba, which couldn't be much. As for the ship, it seemed to be in decent shape, considering the glimpses Sasuke was about to catch of it between bodies. He was unsure of whether this was a positive or negative observation. On the one hand, it meant these pirates were well-off, meaning Sasuke wasn't about to be sold off (potentially again) as a slave in some foreign country as a means for quick cash. On the other hand, it meant these pirates were probably damn good at what they did, making it in Sasuke's best interest to cooperate.

No one in the crew seemed scraggly or scrawny enough to go down easily in a one-on-one fight. Except maybe for the young man perched above one of the lower sails, seemingly content on watching everyone from afar. But then he was probably a long distance fighter and could take Sasuke out before too much damage was caused in any escape attempts.

Sulking at this assessment, the Uchiha went back to glaring at Naruto, only to have a splash of familiar black hair catch his eye. But before he could get a better look, a tall figure stepped forward, causing an immediate hush to fall over the deck.

Sasuke was a firm believer in showing no fear, but that morale shriveled away along with his glare as he took in the scars that marred the newcomer's features. Claw-like marks were raked across his face and it looked as if holes had once been drilled into his head. Considering the fact he was still alive probably meant he wasn't a man to be trifled with.

A bandana was pulled from his pocket and slipped on to protect his bald scalp from the sun, but Sasuke knew what he had just seen wasn't something he was likely to forget.

"When did he wake?"

"Before dawn." Kiba's voice dutifully rose from somewhere in the crowd. "I'm pretty sure he hasn't rested since."

The interrogator nodded, processing the information as his eyes remained locked on Sasuke.

"Just how far into the past can you see, boy?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. How the hell did these people know of the Sharingan? Having already sized up the man and not looking forward to any physical abuse for prideful silence, Sasuke chose to play dumb instead.

"It depends on how ancient the book I'm reading is," he sardonically replied.

Rather than grow angry at such a smart-aleck answer, the man simply nodded again, seemingly pleased.

Sasuke felt like kicking himself as he realized how his answer had been interpreted. The Uchiha library held an entire section of books and scrolls that were so old the Sharingan was required if one wanted to make any sense of the ink that had long since faded from the pages.

"What do you know of a man once known as Tobi?" The interrogator asked, obviously feeling like he was getting somewhere.

The idea of playing dumb vanished from Sasuke's mind as true confusion showed on his face. He had never heard of the name Tobi before, even in his extensive memorization of his family's library contents.

"No?" the man questioned. "What about Madara Uchiha?"

Recognition slowly dawned on Sasuke. Madara was the founding father of the entire Uchiha lineage; not that he was about to tell this pirate such a thing. Very little was actually known about Madara other than he was the first to posses the Sharingan and pass it along to his children. But why a band of pirates would want him just for a family history lesson was completely beyond Sasuke.

"Nothing is known about Madara Uchiha, even to his own family. Sasuke _would_ have no idea about Tobi – Madara made sure to keep his secrets his own." To the left, the wall of men parted to reveal Neji Hyuuga, alive and well, his lack of shirt showing off a heavily bandaged torso. "And you grabbed the wrong Uchiha."

Sasuke's jaw fell open.

"What do you mean 'the wrong Uchiha'?" Naruto demanded, stepping forward from his place amongst the rest of the crew. "He was the only one there!"

"There's a whole clan of them," someone else pointed out. "What's wrong with this one?"

"This better not be another attempt at making me look bad," Naruto growled. "Because I'm starting to get pretty damn sick of it."

Neji merely rolled his eyes. "I don't 'attempt' anything. You show off your shortcomings all on your own. As for him," a gesture was made towards Sasuke, "we should –"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto bristled. "Unlike you, I was raised as a pirate –"

"That has nothing to do with –"

"– and I followed my orders exactly as they were given! If it had been anyone else who stabbed you, you'd be dead right now!"

"If it weren't for _Yamato_, I'd be dead. You –"

"He was the only Uchiha there to give chase!" Naruto argued. "The same one Shikamaru watched read the note from Hinata! So don't you even try to pin this on me!"

"I wasn't trying to-! Will you let me speak?" Neji snapped as Naruto's mouth opened to continue.

Voices were raised as Naruto and Neji stood inches apart, both trying to argue their side of the story over one another, their bodies tense as they continually gestured toward Sasuke and the assumed direction of Konoha.

Quickly catching on to what was happening, Sasuke had to consciously force himself not to go into shock as betrayal washed over him. He was in this mess because of Neji! Neji! Someone who, through Hinata, he had come to trust more than several of his own family members. Despite the fact that he was supposed to have been dead, Hinata's reverence for him had lived on.

He knew it was a trap! He _knew_ it! Damn it!

Never before had Sasuke hated the presence of his company as he did now. He sincerely hoped the fight would become physical and they killed each other.

Before such a wish could come true, a man whose jacket obviously labeled him as captain appeared by Sasuke's side, arms crossed as he assessed the situation with a raised brow. The crew, who had been passively watching the exchange, gave him their undivided attention. Even Naruto and Neji grudgingly quieted down, although they continued to give one another the evil eye.

"I thought," the captain began in a scolding tone, "we agreed that the captive was to be off limits and that no one was to call dibs just to antagonize others."

The muffled snickers that rippled through the air clued Sasuke in that the man was most likely serious.

"I wasn't calling dibs!" Naruto insisted, his temper refusing to back down even the slightest. An accusatory finger flew up. "_He_ said I lured in the wrong Uchiha!"

The captain stepped forward, putting himself more in Sasuke's field of vision. Despite only being able to see his profile, Sasuke was instantly able to recognize the similarities between father and son. Same spiked blond hair, same cheek bones, same mouth…

"What difference does it make?" the captain asked Neji. "You implied that the basics for all Sharingan users are the same."

Neji immediately straightened, visibly put out at having been caught in a screaming match when he was usually calm and collected. "They _are_ the same – if you have the Sharingan."

The captain looked over and studied Sasuke for a moment, as if wondering what could possibly be wrong with him to make him such an anomaly of the Uchiha race.

"He _is_ of age, sir," Neji stated before the question could be asked; a creepy habit all Hyuugas had – even Hinata. "He just never gained the Sight."

"I see." The captain nodded. "Which is why he's 'the wrong one.'"

Sasuke shifted in his chains, silently willing Neji to shut up. The specifics of the Sharingan were considered a family secret. A secret that had been shared out of necessity with the Hyuugas. To know that such a trust had been breached would be enough to start a war between the two families, even if it was the fault of an already dead man.

"Why couldn't you have warned us he was the wrong one ahead of time?" the captain asked.

"He looks just like Itachi did when I last saw him." Neji glared at Sasuke as if their similarities were his fault. "I didn't think he was foolish enough not to ask for his brother's help in something that reeked so obviously of a trap."

Pride wounded at the verbal knife, Sasuke gritted his teeth. He wished he had the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan with its rumored ability to trap people within their own pasts, forcing them to relive their worst moments until justice saw it fit to end. He wondered what kind of hells a man like Neji had hidden.

"So he's not only useless to us, but stupid as well."

He also wondered what kind of hells the captain had.

"So…what?" Naruto spoke up, his rage gone in favor of puzzlement. "Should we put him back?"

"That would be suicide," Neji countered.

"Why?"

Sasuke's attention flew to the source of the new voice; a silver-haired man with an eye patch leaning against a barrel near the railing. Up until now he had been silently watching over the proceedings. It seemed he was another figure of authority with the way everyone stopped to listen when he talked.

Picking himself up off the barrel, the man strolled forward, physically putting himself in the conversation. "If he really doesn't have the Sharingan at this age, I doubt they'd give much chase."

"True." Neji nodded in agreement. "But he's part of the main branch and the younger brother of _the_ strongest Sharingan user in the whole clan. I don't need the Byakugan to know Itachi would defect from his family if it were the only way to hunt Sasuke down."

While Sasuke knew his brother cared for him, he was pretty sure that was giving Itachi too much credit.

"He's still only one man," said the large male who had accompanied Kiba earlier to the brig. If Sasuke remembered correctly, his name was Asuma. "I say we kill this one and let the other Uchiha come to us and use him instead."

Cheers of agreement rose, but Neji shook his head.

"We didn't exactly cover our tracks, making us easy targets. With that to give them confidence, they've probably organized a sizeable force to come after us."

Against his better nature, hope began to form within Sasuke. Not only did this mean his family could be looking for him, but they would have hired men to counter the individual strengths of the pirates based on observing their pasts while in Konoha.

"A maelstrom will hit us head on early tomorrow morning if we sail there." Neji pointed a finger towards the northeast. "If we plow through it, we should be able to lose them. Even if they were to wait it out, the torrents of rain and large waves would make it next to impossible to follow us using the Sharingan."

Just as quickly as it had formed, hope died within Sasuke. Unless they had enlisted the help of a Hyuuga, which was unlikely, Itachi would never see the storm coming. And if it was as bad as Neji was saying, chances for his brother's survival were slim. Hell, chances for this _ship's_ survival were slim!

"That's suicide!" Sasuke blurted, refusing to believe the captain would follow such insane advice just to avoid battle.

To his surprise, the captain burst out laughing. "You would certainly think so, wouldn't you?" He turned to the crew and raised his voice. "Alright men, you heard him. Set the course – northeast! We've got a date with Death we don't want to miss!"

As the men scrambled to follow orders, Naruto remained where he was, fists pumped in the air. "Woohoo! We're keeping him!"

* * *

**TRUFAX**: Listening to Bollywood soundtracks got me through this chapter.

**A/N**: Congratulations! You've made it through to the end of the second chapter! From here on out, I promise things will be much more exciting and action packed…like a real pirate story is supposed to be.


	3. Chapter 3

******Chapter Three**  
  
The storm hit much sooner than expected. So much sooner that tomorrow still had yet to arrive. Hell, the sun never even had a chance to set. It just disappeared behind dark clouds that the helmsman swore appeared out of nowhere.

Much to his dismay, Sasuke was still on deck and chained to the mast, being pelted by a light rain that was really more of an annoyance than anything. But from the way the crew was running around and crawling over one another in an effort to follow orders as quickly as possible, one would think Doomsday was minutes away from approaching. There was no way this could be the maelstrom Neji had foreseen; it was far too early. However, the way the men were acting made Sasuke unsure.

As he observed the chaos around him, he noticed the crewmembers were constantly glancing over the prow. Curious as to what was out there that had everyone so spooked, Sasuke strained against his bonds to see around the pole to the front end of the ship and squinted as he tried to discern what he was looking at.

At first it appeared to be black thunderheads, so large and heavy that they rested on the sea itself. But then lightning sparked within the mass and gave Sasuke a better view.

The clouds were where they should have been, sitting high above the horizon in the sky. The thick darkness in between was fierce rain and wind. What made Sasuke's blood run cold were the mountain ranges he saw within that he knew weren't mountain ranges at all. They were waves that looked hungry enough to not only swallow boats, but entire islands as well.

And the ship was headed straight for them.

Sasuke frantically whirled around, putting the mast between himself and the awful sight. He refused to believe anyone was foolish enough to prefer facing _that_ rather than fighting in a battle. Especially if they were pirates.

An echoed command of, "_Get your lifelines ready!_" had everyone abandoning their tasks and scrambling for the coils of rope that were lying about just as the vessel hit her first large wave. Sasuke's stomach lurched as he realized it was probably too late to bargain with the captain to try and convince him to take the fight instead. They were already passed the point of return in outrunning the storm.

"Is it really almost dawn already?" one sailor yawned out as he tied the other end of his line to one of the numerous hooks jutting out from Sasuke's mast. "I feel like I just fell asleep two hours ago…"

"Try more like one and a half," Naruto snorted as he appeared by the man's side to tie off his own rope. Numerous other crewmembers joined to secure their own lines and ignored the pair. "Neji was so far off on his prediction that we hadn't even gotten around to securing any of the cargo."

With a frown, Sasuke invited himself into the conversation. "It's impossible for the Byakugan to see anything less than a guaranteed future!"

Both men stared.

"So…what? We're going to hit a second storm during middle watch?"

"Or Neji was wrong," Naruto countered, grabbing some extra rope from a passing crewmate. He turned back to the other man. "Shino, help get the last few barrels of gunpowder into their cradle below deck and make sure someone's there to cover them with a canvas this time."

With a nod, Shino gave his line a quick tug to make sure it was secure on its hook before jogging off to carry out the order.

Meanwhile, Naruto unraveled the rope and began to tie one end around Sasuke's waist.

"It's not a matter of Neji being wrong or not, it's about the limited ability of the Byakugan—" Sasuke's argument was cut off with a gasp as the rope was knotted too tightly around him.

"Listen and I'll keep it simple for your land lubbing brain." Naruto made no attempts to loosen the knot as he bent to tie the other end on a hook near their feet. "Neji is wrong. And _that_—" a finger went up to point at the storm they were sailing into, "—is proof."

Another wave crashed into the ship and sent the world tilting sideways. Sasuke didn't even have time to realize he was falling before he found himself being supported by a strong pair of arms.

"Try to keep your footing!" Naruto yelled just as the rain reached torrential levels. Anything that had been lucky enough to just be a little wet immediately became soaked.

Irked, Sasuke straightened and tossed his head back to sweep his bangs out of his eyes. He opened his mouth to tell Naruto where he could shove his footing, only to get a mouthful of water instead as another wave battered against the ship. The captive was swept off his feet and dangled by his chains as he watched numerous sailors ride the tide on deck until their bodies hit some immoveable force. As he struggled to upright himself, another wave knocked him right back down. Sasuke would have contemplated staying there if he wasn't gritting his teeth against the amount of pain his metal cuffs were inducing upon his wrists.

After several attempts, he was finally able to return to a standing position and belatedly realized Naruto was no longer with him. Instinctively panicking, Sasuke looked around, trying to find the uncovered blond head that would reassure him the man he hated wasn't dead. He spotted it almost instantly, helping another crewmate to his feet before another wave knocked the both of them over.

Feeling smug that he had managed to remain standing for that one, Sasuke decided to take the opportunity to at least make his torso more comfortable. Using his elbows he did his best to wiggle and push the rope around his waist up to the fleshier part of his midsection. Once satisfied, he wiped his bangs back and fought to keep his head up against the downpour so that he could observe what was going on around him on the deck.

The crew worked in an almost eerie silence, keeping their mouths shut tight as they went about rescuing anything that hadn't been tied down tight enough the first time around. From the helm, the captain's voice could barely be heard.

"_Get Sai up – the cro - nest so I – amn sail! If that—ail won't – ut it off!_"

Knocked off his feet as the ship lurched in the opposite direction the waves had been coming from, Sasuke cried out in pain as his wrists took the full burden of his weight and twisted as his shoes slipped sideways along the deck.

He wasn't given a chance to recover before a large hand grabbed the scruff of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. Keeping his head down so that his hair wouldn't immediately stick to his face, Sasuke glanced over to see that his savior was the silver-haired man who had spoken up during Neji's traitorous know-it-all explanation earlier.

Without waiting to see if the prisoner was alright, the man had moved on, echoing the relevant bits of the captain's orders while barking out his own. It seemed as if Sasuke's guess on authority had been right. The first mate, perhaps?

Sasuke wasn't given a chance to ponder the thought as another wall of water washed over the deck. This time he was prepared, gripping his chains with his hands as his feet did all within their power to stay directly beneath him.

His hair was rapidly getting on his nerves, and he once again tossed his head back in an effort to get it out of his face. The action brought his attention to a splash of red and he looked down to find that his shirt sleeves were the source of the color, the iron cuffs having already rubbed his wrists raw enough to freely bleed.

For some reason, the sight caused Sasuke to shiver. Aside from knocking him out and pushing him around, the pirates had done him no real harm. They obviously intended to keep him alive for now and Sasuke believed himself to be clever enough to keep it that way if the tides ever changed.

But this was Mother Nature they were dealing with. There were no guarantees for survival in a storm like this. If Sasuke's wrists were damaged from just a few falls, how well was the ship expected to hold up for the rest of the journey? His earlier words of "_That's suicide!_" rang through his head, followed by the captain's laughter. Dear God, he had been taken hostage by a group of mad pirates.

The wind carried down an alarmed shout from the crow's nest. "_Secure yourselves!_"

The men broke their silence around Sasuke as they began cursing, scrambling for the closest immobile object they could hang on to. Naruto came skidding to a stop in front of the mast, yanking on all of the safety lines to ensure their knots held strong. He then shoved Sasuke into the tall wooden column and pinned him there with his body, his arms circling around Sasuke to firmly grab a hold of the hooks on his either side.

Speaking directly into Sasuke's ear, Naruto ordered, "Hold your breath!"

Confused as to what exactly was going on, Sasuke looked over his shoulder and scowled as he found it impossible to see. Just then a flash of lightning illuminated the sky and outlined a giant wave towering over the ship.

Struck by a sense of vertigo as the vessel was lifted and began to dangerously tilt thanks to the sheer magnitude of the upsurge, Sasuke clung to the mast for dear life, shut his eyes and stopped breathing. He prayed they wouldn't overturn even as the boat continued to tip.

The sudden rush of water muted out the storm as it tried to rip Sasuke away from the unyielding force that was Naruto. And then the pull stopped and for a terrifying moment Sasuke felt weightless as the vessel became one with the ocean. The feeling passed and the rush returned with vengeance, followed by the loud roar of the hurricane at full force.

Sasuke still refused to breathe even as he heard voices sound again before another wall of water washed over them. From somewhere nearby, the first mate yelled out an order that Naruto hurried off to follow. Sasuke didn't budge from his position as he was left alone, gasping for breath only when he couldn't hold it anymore.

For what felt like an eternity, Sasuke remained as he was, eyes screwed shut as the world spun around him. Wave after relentless wave hammered into the ship as the sea did everything within its power to drag whatever it could down to its murky depths. Sasuke's muscles ached as he held onto the same hooks Naruto had grabbed earlier, keeping his body flush against the pole even when an undertow would drag his feet out from beneath him.

_Don't die, don't die, don't die._ The silent mantra was more of a plea than anything and was being repeated with such conviction that it may as well have been directed not only at himself, but at the ship and her keepers, as well as whatever rescuing fleet that may or may not have been following them.

It was with a start that Sasuke came back to reality. His eyes snapped open as he realized it wasn't a bit of random seaweed wrapping itself around his hand, but someone slowly trying to pry his fingers off of the iron hooks. He raised his head to see Naruto, who was staring at him with an unusual amount of gentle concern in his eyes.

"You okay?"

Sasuke looked around, unable to believe he was still alive. The storm around them had calmed considerably and lanterns were lit all around the deck to illuminate the night sky. Sailors wearily moved about, hoisting the sails and returning the jumble of ropes back to their original coils.

Realizing the man before him was still waiting for an answer, Sasuke dumbly nodded his head. He watched in silence as Naruto undid the line around his waist before freeing his wrists from their chains.

"Come on, the worst is over." Naruto left the cuffs dangling on the mast in favor of carefully rolling up Sasuke's bloodied sleeves so that his wounds would no longer be further agitated. "You can get some sleep in the brig."

Unsure if he trusted his feet to work properly, Sasuke slowly followed Naruto and was startled to notice that he had to watch his step because the deck was nearly flooded with fish.

"Get Chouji up here to help sort these fish into barrels," the first mate instructed. "Better put some in the tanks as well until we figure out where the hell we are and how far it is to the nearest safe port."

A loud stomping caught everyone's attention until they saw just who it was coming down the stairs from the bridge, causing them to quickly scuttle off to either help clean up the fish or find something else to do. The captain was very obviously in a foul mood.

"Someone," he growled out, his eyes sweeping over the deck, "had better find Neji and tell him that the next time he gives bad weather predictions, the timing better be a hell of a lot better than this one was or he can expect to be boasting of his powers at the slave market. I want immediate inventory and damage reports! Everyone's eyes had better be on the sky because as _soon_ as those clouds clear and we can read the stars, I want to know our exact position!"

With that last order, the captain went to his quarters and slammed the door shut behind him.

From elsewhere on the deck, a loud sniffle was heard.

"Captain Minato is so amazing! He steered us safely through that entire storm, not leaving the wheel even once! And despite the exhaustion he must surely feel, he still gave us permission to interrupt his sleep, all for the sake of—"

"Gai," the first mate interrupted. "Go gather the fish."

As he left the deck, Sasuke felt cold and numb. But even in his near-dreamlike state, he couldn't help but find the fact that they had not only survived Hell but obtained a long lasting food supply nothing short of a miracle.

After crossing through the crew's sleeping quarters, Sasuke stopped short in the doorway, refusing to walk down the few steps that led to the brig. In the light of the lantern behind him, the floor glistened like the ocean – the place was flooded.

Peering over Sasuke's shoulder, Naruto let out a disbelieving chuckle. "Uh, sorry. We're always forgetting to fix the latch on the porthole in here, so everything tends to get wet during bad storms. I suppose we can put you in the galley…until…uhm…"

Sasuke sloshed forward, not really caring about what Naruto had to say. The water was only calf deep and he was already soaked to the bone. Entering his cell, he plopped down on the bench, a vague sense of irritation crossing his mind at how warm the puddle he was sitting in felt.

Frowning, Naruto hung the light in its designated spot and came forward, stopping just inside the cell door. "Hey, are you really alright?"

When Sasuke failed to answer right away, Naruto drew closer. "Hey."

The proximity of the pirate's hand waving in front of his face snapped Sasuke out of his daze.

"You can shove your footing so far up your bum that you choke on it."

Naruto froze. "Up my what?"

"Bastard," Sasuke growled, stubbornly looking away.

Naruto remained incredulous for a moment longer before he burst out laughing. "Yeah, you're alright," he said, shaking his head and heading back out of the prison, closing and locking the door behind him.

The ship was still on choppy waters despite passing the worst of the storm. While the unsteady rocking should have been nauseating, all it did was lull Sasuke to sleep.

Loud banging permeated through Sasuke's dreamless rest. He ignored it as long as he could, but when it was joined by barking, he found he had no choice but to wake up.

Upon opening his eyes, he immediately noticed the cabin held a lighter tint, indicating it was not only daylight, but they had sailed well out of the storm's range as well. He brought his hands up to rub the sleep from his eyes and the action caused the noises to finally stop.

"Oh, good!" Kiba happily proclaimed. "You're alive."

Sasuke ignored him and sat up, groaning as he momentarily forgot the place was flooded and dunked his feet without thought on their way to the floor. Grumbling about it seemed pointless. His clothes, after all, were still wet, sticking to his skin in a way that made him far more uncomfortable than submerged shoes ever could thanks to the heat and humidity. Wondering if he was expected to remain in his one outfit for the duration of the journey, he was distracted from his musings when a tray of food balancing on a floating bucket bumped against his leg.

From outside the prison, Kiba rested his arms against the bars above his head. "I would have handed it to you, but you were sleeping like the dead and I wasn't about to risk being cursed by your body in the event that you really had kicked the bucket."

Sasuke would have snorted at such a ludicrous idea, but he was far too ravenous to care about such idiotic sea superstitions.

He finished the bread roll in three bites and went to chase it down with what he had assumed to be water, only to cough and spit out the strange tasting liquid instead.

"Yeah, we lost most of our rum barrels in the storm, so the remainder has been watered down to cat-lap to make sure it lasts." Kiba pushed off from the bars and leaned back against his dog that was standing behind him. "Tastes like shit, don't it?"

Sasuke eyed the drink warily. It certainly did taste like shit. But even though Sasuke had never been much of a drinker, he suspected that whatever it was that had been diluted probably tasted like even stronger shit in the first place. Deciding he was far too thirsty to be picky, he downed the rest of the drink, paying no attention to the way Kiba's jaw dropped and how even the dog somehow managed to look surprised.

Finishing up his cheese and fish, Sasuke wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "It was delicious," he murmured in habitual gratitude.

Kiba snorted. "Congratulations. You've just become our chef's newest favorite person." He bent forward to fish a pair of shackles off the floor while reaching back to retrieve the key ring from the dog's mouth. "Naruto scheduled you to see Yamato, the ship's doctor and crew's carpenter." He unlocked the door and walked forward. "I'm guessing it's to make sure you're not suffering from any trauma thanks to being chained to a mast in the middle of a hurricane or, y'know, being kidnapped by pirates in the first place."

Sasuke wordlessly held out his arms – not to be cuffed, but to show the state they were in – and Kiba's eyes widened.

"Shit, we better get this checked out, too!"

The handcuffs were still put on regardless.

Led through the bunker to a different area of the ship's belly, Sasuke did his best to memorize the path and piece together the vessel's layout in his head. The knowledge would come in handy if he could ever gain the dog's trust enough to hand over the keys.

Upon entering a long, decently sized cabin, Kiba motioned Sasuke toward a few chairs in the corner. Sasuke remained standing as Kiba flopped down, the dog imitating the action on the floor.

The room smelled strongly of herbs thanks to the numerous dried plants hanging from the ceiling, but underneath that was the scent of medicine and sawdust. The shelves were decorated with an odd assortment of tools and dusty jars and there were bits of scrap wood that had been littered just about anywhere there had been space. Every piece of furniture, from the shelves to the chair Kiba was sitting on, had been decorated with carvings that were both beautiful and odd. Sasuke's attention would have been completely enraptured by the room if one of the two figures at the examining table in the middle of the cabin hadn't spoken up.

"Why, _yes_, oh wise doctor, I _do_ promise to take it easy after being intentionally skewered alive and not run around doing heavy lifting in the middle of a maelstrom!"

The other person, whom Sasuke belatedly realized was Neji, scowled. "The storm hit sooner than expected. I was needed."

The doctor snorted and threw a bloodied cotton swab into the overflowing bucket at his feet. "You need to not do anything that will cause this wound to reopen." He grabbed the jar that was sitting beside Neji and screwed it open, dipping his fingers into the salve. "If this gets infected, there's nothing I can do, and amputation isn't exactly an option."

Neji's lips pursed, but he sensibly remained silent.

"Yamato was born on a ship and has been sailing ever since," Kiba conversed lowly as he tilted his chair back on two legs. "It's pretty impossible not to pick up a trade when on a ship, so he's naturally one hell of a carpenter."

Sasuke turned his head to stare down at Kiba.

"But carpenters usually end up doubling as doctors on pirate ships," Kiba continued, "so he's made it a point to study local medicine practices at every port he can get shore leave for."

Sasuke 'hmm'ed in response, figuring he wasn't about to doubt that tidbit of information as his gaze fell upon what looked like three dried out chicken carcasses hanging over the nearest porthole.

"Yep. So, naturally, he's also one hell of an expert doctor. Without him, we never would have been able to pull off your kidnapping scheme." Kiba gave a nod of acknowledgement to the two other men.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the reminder.

"How long has Yamato been with the captain?" he asked, pushing aside his pride in favor of gathering more information.

"Dunno." Kiba shrugged. "Well before my time, that's for sure. Rumor has it the captain was a cabin boy on the same ship as Yamato way back when and years later, when the old man was forming his crew, he sought Yamato out. I dunno if the story's true or not, but I do know the captain wouldn't have agreed to Neji's plan if he didn't completely trust Yamato when he said he could keep him alive."

"What about Neji?" Sasuke suddenly asked, watching the Hyuuga as Yamato finished wrapping his torso back up.

"What about him?" The front legs of the chair hit the ground with a thunk.

"When did he join—"

The question was cut off as Kiba abruptly stood and skipped forward to the examining table, leaving Sasuke standing where he was.

"Hey, I got a nasty splinter from one of the crates earlier!" Kiba proclaimed as he began rolling up his sleeve.

"Yeah, so?" Yamato barely spared him a glance, his gaze immediately sliding over to Sasuke.

"Well, I don't want to risk amputation either!"

Even at his distance, Sasuke couldn't help but think it looked more like a wooden stake had been driven up Kiba's arm instead of some insignificant little splinter.

The sight of the injury caused Yamato to do a double take. "Holy-! You didn't even take it out!" He abandoned Neji in favor of jumping up to dig through a nearby drawer.

"That's because I didn't want it to start bleeding all over the place!" Kiba argued, following the doctor. "I'm not going to die, am I?"

"No," Yamato answered, producing an oversized pair of tweezers. "If you die, it will be by my hand because you're a complete idiot when it comes to basic first aid."

Realizing he had been as good as dismissed, Neji stood and finished tucking in the rest of the dressings himself.

Sasuke tensed as he deliberately approached, relaxing only minutely when he saw that Neji was only going for his discarded shirt on one of the chairs. The Hyuuga's movements were slow and calculated and Sasuke hoped he was in a lot of pain.

Eyeing the approximate location of the wound, Sasuke recalled the way the white shirt had rapidly darkened with blood when the blade stabbed through.

"Is Hinata dead?" he asked.

Neji paused in the struggle to get his shirt over both arms.

"It was never in the plan to harm her," he said after a moment. "After you left to chase after Naruto, she was blindfolded, dragged off to another part of the forest, and robbed of her shoes. At most she was probably deeply frightened and confused."

Sasuke blinked. "Her shoes?"

"It was the only article of value she had with her at the time and it would have slowed her down long enough for us to make our escape."

Even as anger boiled within Sasuke at how obviously well thought out the plan was, he couldn't help but feel relieved at the weight that had been lifted off his chest. Hinata was not only alive but unharmed as well.

Relishing in the flood of various emotions as Neji finished getting dressed, a memory suddenly found itself at the forefront of Sasuke's brain.

"What makes you think Itachi would go against our family to find me?"

The question caused Neji to stop just as he turned to walk out the door.

"Because I would do the same if it were Hinata in your position," he answered, sounding surprised at the lack of faith Sasuke so obviously held for his elder protector.

Sasuke snorted in disbelief, a million different responses on the tip of his tongue. "Don't compare my brother to you. You wouldn't have even been around to try."

Neji's head cocked slightly, as if he wanted to turn back around to defend himself. Instead, he remained silent and left the room.

* * *

******Nautical Nonsense**: Cat-lap was the sailor's terminology for extremely weak, water-down rum.  
**  
****TRUFAX**: Pirates were (still are?) very superstitious. If a body was found dead after a certain period of time, they believed in the possibility of it becoming possessed by the devil. After the deceased's burial, they would auction off the person's old belongings, but would not use them until the ship's journey was complete. Why? Because it was bad luck.

And slightly off the topic of dead bodies, sailors adopted tattooing in the desire to assure identity in case of death by shipwreck or drowning. 8D The more you know~


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Having bandages wrapped around your wrists, Sasuke decided, was a moot point if you were still forced into shackles on a 24/7 basis.

Due to health concerns over the flooded brig, Sasuke found himself spending all his time either chained to one of the ship's two masts or shackled to a forgotten corner in the captain's cabin. Granted, while the Captain's quarters were a lot nicer than anywhere else he could have ended up, it lacked immunity from what had immediately become one of Sasuke's biggest annoyances – Naruto.

Despite the generally busy life of a sailor, Naruto somehow managed to find ample time to take on a secondary trade, which basically involved being Sasuke's shadow. He carried no qualms about setting up a work station in the middle of the deck, forcing others to relocate and do their chores elsewhere on the days Sasuke was shackled outside.

Whether he was repairing and testing canons, sharpening and polishing swords, measuring out and mixing gunpowder, Sasuke discovered that Naruto seemed to possess an innate ability to talk to himself as if he were holding an actual conversation with whoever happened to be nearby. Sasuke found it to be quite a fascinating feat considering he was almost always within the pirate's line of sight yet chose to pointedly ignore him. Despite being absorbed in his everyday duties, it still managed to piss Naruto off if Sasuke disregarded him long enough.

At the moment, Sasuke was ignoring a story about Petey, the Once Magical Parrot, in favor of resolutely staring at the large ornate rug that decorated the floor of the Captain's quarters.

"It's only natural that Petey got stage fright when his owner was being a dick! But that didn't warrant the guy for breaking poor Petey's neck. Fucking hell, I was mad. I would have shot the man on the spot if Kiba hadn't beat me to it. Normally we're pretty evenly matched, but I think he had his finger on the trigger just waiting for something to happen. Kiba can be pretty intuitive like that when it comes to animals." Naruto looked contemplative for a moment as he set down the flintlock pistol he had been cleaning and picked up the next one. Sasuke gritted his teeth, determined not to listen. The task was made difficult when he had already memorized the rug's pattern and just about everything else the room had to offer several days ago. His attention could no longer easily be diverted.

"In the end, we bound poor Petey's neck so that he looked as good as new and sold him to a blind man. Haha! Stupid sap was trying to get Petey to talk as we left…"

Sasuke snapped. "Isn't there an armory or someplace where you can do your work?"

Naruto looked up from the gun, genuine surprise crossing his face at the simple fact that his captive had talked to him. "Well…yeah! But there's no way we're about to allow you in there."

Sasuke snorted. "I'll be fine here on my own." He leveled the pirate with an unamused looked. "Really."

An elbow was placed on the desk as Naruto leaned forward, waving the disassembled pistol at Sasuke. "I'm not about to leave you here on your own to sulk and think up escape plans."

"They're not escape plans," Sasuke admitted tiredly, his head thumping back on the wall. "They're ways I plan on killing you with my bare hands."

Naruto paused, blinked, and then threw his head back with a bark of laughter, fist thumping against the desk. "Even if you were _given_the chance, you wouldn't be able to kill me," he stated, the tone of his voice indicating this wasn't a challenge but a cruel fact of life.

Sasuke's brows furrowed and his lip curled in annoyance as he lifted his head. "Says the pirate who chose to risk it all in a hurricane rather than fight my possible rescuers."

The verbal barb managed to strike a nerve somewhere and pride brought Naruto to his feet. "If you really believe you could even lay a _finger_on me-!" His head snapped back as a black boot successfully connected with his face.

From his position on the floor, Sasuke smirked, allowing the toes of his left foot to stretch in their newfound freedom. His moment of basking in triumph was short-lived as his shoe was hurled back, hitting him on the side of the head with enough force to cause black dots to dance across his vision.

"That's IT!" Naruto shouted, kicking his chair out of the way as he stomped around the desk. "You and me! On deck, _now_!"

Sasuke sank lower against the wall, curling his body as his back began to slide against the floor. His feet rose in what he hoped was a threatening manner in a futile attempt to defend himself from the hands that were reaching out to undo his chains. Just as Naruto caught the booted foot that lashed out at him, the door to the cabin slammed shut. They both looked over to see the Captain casually strolling in, head turned to watch them as he made his way over to a chest in the corner. When neither man made any attempt to move, the Captain realized this was a situation that actually required his notice and abruptly stopped, his eyes taking in the evidence on the matter.

As the silence in the room lengthened, both males seemed to realize how ridiculous they looked frozen in place. Relaxing only minutely, they waited a moment to see if the other would attack. When no such thing happened, they allowed their guards to drop, even as they continued to eye one another mistrustfully.

"Where's his shhh…Naruto." The sudden vocal change from passing curiosity to strained demand instantly caught both boys' attention. "Please tell me you had the foresight to remove the maps from my desk before turning it into your new personal workstation."

Sasuke's eyes darted to the desk as Naruto whirled around. Despite being unable to see the desktop from his angle, Sasuke spotted the curled ends of map parchment dangling over the edge. The guilt that paled over Naruto's profile pretty much told that whatever mess he had created rendered parts of the maps unsalvageable.

"Dad, I'm sorry! I can expla – I can fix it!" Naruto pleaded, motioning his arms to the desk even as the rest of his body remained rooted near the ship's prisoner.

The Captain's features darkened as his son spoke, but at the near mentioning of an explanation, his eyes frosted over in a murderous fury.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably as the Captain's cold gaze flickered over to him for a split second. He recognized an accusatory glance when he saw one, but was clueless as to how Naruto's careless mistake could possibly be his fault.

"Kakashi!" The volume of the bellow caused the two men to jump.

Several seconds ticked by before the door creaked open and the silvery head of the first mate poked in. "You summoned?"

The Captain's eyes didn't leave Naruto's. "Get the Uchiha out of here. I need to have a word with my _son_."

Kakashi's brow rose in mild surprise but his mouth wisely remained shut as he entered the room, unchained Sasuke, and patiently waited for him to retrieve his shoe. Naruto's continuous panicked-turned-pleading glances went firmly ignored as both Sasuke and Kakashi turned to exit the quarters.

It wasn't until they were almost out the door that Sasuke noticed the full-blown smirk that seemed to have appeared on the first mate's face out of nowhere. The look was extremely malicious when seen from the side with the eye patch and Sasuke quickly looked away, figuring it was in his best interest to pretend he hadn't noticed it in the first place.

The door clicked shut behind them. "For the kid's sake, I hope you prove to be worth the amount of trouble he's in right now." The mirth in Kakashi's low voice made Sasuke wonder if he was being teased.

His curiosity was immediately distracted by the muffled shouts behind him that carried out over the deck. But before any of the crew could begin to make out what the argument was about, Kakashi began issuing orders much louder than necessary.

"Shino! Put our captive back on the mast." Sasuke stumbled as he was shoved forward. "I need volunteers to retake inventory. I want an exact count of how many fish we'll be selling at port."

Shino looked up from steadying Sasuke. "Chouji had us do that when we were storing them away in the first place."

Kakashi shrugged. "It was dark then. It won't hurt to do a recount. Captain's –" he winced as a loud crash sounded from the room behind him, followed by more yelling, "—implied orders."

Groans sounded throughout the deck, but everyone moved to obey regardless, shuffling down to the brig or making their way to the ship's bow to find something to do. As soon as he was secured, Sasuke found himself alone on his end of the deck, wondering if he should feel awkward about being the only one who had to force himself not to eavesdrop on the muted argument coming from the captain's quarters.

Over the next few days, Sasuke didn't see hide nor hair of Naruto. It was a nice change for the first twenty-four hours, but after that Sasuke found himself bored to tears. He knew well enough that Naruto was probably being punished, and while he enjoyed imagining the different forms of cruel and unusual torture the pirate could be suffering from, Sasuke's mind could only pleasantly wander for so long.

He tried people watching but quickly figured out that all the interesting facts there were to learn about the crew had been discovered when he observed them in the days of trying to piss Naruto off when in his unwanted company.

Among the more fascinating of the shipmates had been Hayate, who had caught Sasuke's attention mainly because he seemed to be suffering from a perpetually mild case of scurvy. But as time went by, he didn't appear to get any better or worse. No one else onboard seemed to be sick, nor cared that their crewmate was, leading Sasuke to eventually give up on keeping tabs on him.

Kakashi, despite being the first mate, spent very little time keeping watch over the crew. He generally seemed to leave the job to the other authoritative figureheads such as Asuma or a man named Gai – someone whom Sasuke kept gawking at because not only was he fairly certain he had seen the man somewhere before, but when Gai _did_make appearances, he was so completely eccentric that no one could help but stop and stare.

In lieu of his duties, Kakashi spent a vast majority of his time always reading the same journal. Or just staring at it, if Sasuke were to be completely honest with himself. He was seriously doubting the first mate's capacity to read when it took him over an hour to turn the page.

Kiba, Sasuke noted, seemed to be incapable of existing when not within three feet of a living creature. As a result, he and Naruto got along splendidly. But in the other pirate's absence, Kiba had taken to sitting next to Shino during mealtimes. Sasuke could only assume the two had some sort of mutual understanding because very little conversation was ever had between them. Kiba was generally too busy stuffing his face and Shino was too absorbed in playing with the weevils and other mysterious grub that appeared in his biscuits.

Sai, one of the lookouts, seemed to wile away the hours spent in the crow's nest by drawing pictures of the clouds. At the end of his shift, he would climb down and show his sketches to Shikamaru, an avid cloud watcher himself, and the two would spend hours discussing the drawings until Asuma caught them and sent Shikamaru up to the crow's nest to take his shift.

Some of the more intriguing people on board were a couple by the name of Haku and Zabuza. Sasuke couldn't figure out if they were crew members or merely passengers judging from how little work they did for the ship. On occasion, when things onboard seemed exceedingly dull, Haku would pull out a small flute and start playing an upbeat tune and would soon be accompanied by Zabuza on a stringed instrument that Sasuke had never seen before.

Today, however, there was no need for music and rather than stand around doing nothing, the pair had moved to an open area of the deck, their stances indicating they were about to spar. Judging from the crowd that immediately began to gather and impede his view, Sasuke deduced their fights were either rare, worthwhile to watch, or both.

Making a conscious effort not to blink, Sasuke glared at the pirate next to him long enough to make the man uncomfortable to the point of moving away to sit elsewhere. He then did his best to struggle against what little leeway his chains offered as he claimed the pirate's barrel as his own seat, finally able to see around the bodies that had blocked his line of sight.

Neither Haku nor Zabuza wasted any time with circling one another, meeting halfway in a loud clash of steel. Haku's two daggers and slighter frame were no match for Zabuza's bulk and oversized sword and she quickly jumped back before being overpowered. Rather than stumble at the loss of equilibrium, Zabuza thrust his sword into the deck, using the tip as a balance point as he vaulted forward, his foot hitting Haku in the gut and propelling her back, putting a complete stop to her oncoming attack.

Using Haku's moment of recovery to dislodge his sword, Zabuza eyed the gash left in its wake with distaste. His distraction nearly cost him the temporary use of his right arm. He barely managed to deflect the thrown dagger before finding himself fending off Haku's renewed assaults, which seemed twice as vicious now that she only had one weapon with which to defend herself.

It immediately became apparent that Zabuza's sword was not meant for short-range combat. The power needed to yield the heavy weapon could not be built up in the nearly nonexistent time between Haku's strikes, but that didn't seem to hinder the larger fighter at all. Zabuza was perfectly capable of handling the sword with one arm, using it more as a shield as the rest of his body became an extension of his weapon. He continuously lashed out with punches, kicks, and even bit Haku's wrist at one point, which earned him a slash across the cheek.

Not taking kindly to the cut, Zabuza turned the broad sword so that it was no longer acting like a shield and lunged. Haku stumbled back and nearly fell over a mop that someone had dropped in favor of using both arms to wave in applause.

Such a simple mistake seemed as if it would have cost Haku the match. Zabuza wasted no time in following his attack through, but rather than scramble to get out of the way, Haku remained where she was, crouched low and ready. Amazingly enough, she managed to stop the other's attack – but just barely. The strength behind her dagger was no match for Zabuza and in a single swift move, she slid out from the attack, threw off Zabuza's balance, and had her knife to his throat.

And just like that the spar was over.

As the crowd cheered and dispersed, Sasuke remained unmoving on his barrel. That final move had been impossible for the untrained eye to follow, but he saw it all. The sliding of Haku's foot, the sharp movement of her wrist, the twist of her body as she threw herself against Zabuza; he caught every last detail.

He continued to run over the fight backwards, forwards, and then backwards again in his mind, obsessing over every little factor between the two fighters.

At some point he must have fallen asleep because he found himself waking up with a jolt and nearly fell off his barrel in the process. Wondering just what it was that had roused him, Sasuke's brain came to a stuttering halt at the familiar face that took up most of his field of vision.

"Lee?"

The large round eyes growing even larger to accompany the flashy smile confirmed it. This was the same flower shop man from Konoha – Rock Lee.

"Hello, Sasuke!" The grin toned down just enough for Sasuke to register Lee's eyebrows.

Wondering if he was finally going crazy from extreme boredom, Sasuke's eyes darted around, as if trying to find some explanation for the apparition before him. "Lee, what are you-?" His brain finally caught up with him as he realized Lee's head was the same one he had vaguely recognized on his first day aboard. "You're a pirate?"

Lee's chest puffed out proudly at the title. "Started the night before we left Konoha!"

"The night before?" Sasuke's mind quickly formed and rejected the idea that Lee had witnessed him being kidnapped and was captured in a valiant rescue attempt. "Are you saying you _voluntarily_joined this crew?"

"Yes!"

Sasuke frowned. "Why?" he demanded, failing to see what use a pirate ship would have for a man who made flower arrangements for a living.

Before Lee could answer, Gai appeared behind him and Sasuke's hackles immediately lowered as he took in the appearance of the two before him. The same hair, the same posture, the same grin, the _exact_same eyebrows…

"Please tell me this is your long lost father," Sasuke pleaded, his eyes glued to the older of the pair.

"Actually, I'm his uncle," Gai responded, his chest puffing out much farther than Lee's had. "Twice removed."

The flashy smile was almost too much for Sasuke to take and he leaned back against the mast, his shoulders slumped. Two Lees. The world had two Lees. One of which was a mentor.

"I'm the new cabin boy!" Lee put in once he was aware that Sasuke was done asking questions. "I would have stopped by sooner to say hello, but I was kept busy in the kitchen."

"Galley," Gai corrected.

A horrified look crossed Lee's face at the faux pas, but before he could apologize, Gai held up a hand that stopped him and indicated he should just continue. Lee remained disheartened for a moment before perking up and continuing with the conversation.

"Anyway, I've finally been promoted to take on more duties and be outside for the first time since I joined. And what's the first sight I see upon blinking a step into the sun?" The flutter of eyelashes clearly indicated he expected an answer.

Sasuke merely rewarded him with a deadpanned stare.

Undeterred, Lee continued with a flourish of arms. "Even if you are my prisoner, we'll always be friends with a history!"

"Hey."

Lee whirled around at the interruption and Sasuke's face fell even further. Apparently Naruto's punishment had finally reached its end.

The blond eyed both Lee and Gai as he approached, his gaze darkening as it lingered on Lee. "Gai, why don't you show Lee some of the other sights there are to see on deck."

Much to Sasuke's surprise, Gai obeyed with a salute before grabbing Lee by the shoulders and marching him off to another part of the ship.

Naruto's attention remained locked on the captive as they were left alone, his eyes somewhat calculating despite his easy smile. "You ready to back your words up from the other day?"

Sasuke's contemptuous glare curled into a smirk as he noticed the wary glance directed toward his boots. "You really don't like being considered a coward, do you?"

Naruto scowled but refused to rise to the bait.

With a sigh, Sasuke slid off the barrel and held his hands forward, silently granting Naruto permission to do with him what he will. Not sure how to feel about the trust that was put in him upon being uncuffed, Sasuke compliantly followed Naruto to the same area of deck where Haku and Zabuza had sparred just a few hours previous.

Apparently this was the designated fighting arena because curious passersby stopped to stare and within minutes a full audience had gathered. Not particularly looking forward to being the center of everyone's attention, Sasuke did his best to ignore his surroundings as he watched Naruto remove his pistols, rapier, sash, and shirt, placing them one by one on a crate that was safely out of harm's way.

As the shirt dropped from Naruto's frame, Sasuke's eyes widened. On Naruto's back, a snarling beast was exposed – a gruesome fox tattoo that covered most of the pirate's back, the tips of its too many tails curling around Naruto's shoulders and sides. Sasuke found himself mesmerized and frowned when the image moved away as Naruto crouched down.

Removing the dagger from his boot, Naruto added it to his pile of effects before turning to face Sasuke. Raising his arms, he beckoned the man forward. "Alright. Come at me," he instructed as he readied his stance.

Sasuke failed to grasp what was being asked of him and Naruto repeated his hand motion with a bit of exaggeration, adding a little nod to show that it was okay.

"He's quick," Kiba warned from the sidelines, idly scratching at the bandage on his arm.

Naruto's arms dropped and he turned to send a retort in Kiba's direction when an abrupt movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Sasuke's sudden attack was brought to an immediate halt as he found himself in a hold that had him completely immobilized.

"Oh, shit!" The shock in Naruto's voice caused Sasuke's brow to furrow as he stumbled forward upon promptly being released. Sasuke turned in time to see Naruto backing away from him a few steps, hands spread in apology. "Sorry!"

Had Naruto done that to him on a reflex? A muscle in Sasuke's jaw twitched.

"I told you he was quick," Kiba jeered, causing Naruto to shoot him a disapproving frown before returning his attention to Sasuke just in time to start blocking a flurry of rapid attacks.

The fight went on for quite some time and Sasuke continued on tirelessly, his body on an extreme adrenaline rush now that he finally had the chance to work out his stress and anger. It wasn't until his wrist, made slick with sweat, slid along Naruto's arm in yet another block did Sasuke realize that Naruto was making no attempt to go on the offensive. The slight strain in Sasuke's limbs confirmed the amount of energy he had mindlessly expended thus far and he mentally chastised himself. He needed to use his brain if he was to win.

Forcing himself to calm down, Sasuke tried switching up tactics, only to have Naruto take it into stride as he continued on with his method of wait and block. This pattern continued as Sasuke worked his way through nearly every form of hand-to-hand combat he knew, his frustration growing until it got the best of him. Whirling around, he kicked a nearby barrel, effectively putting a splintered hole in its side.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Sasuke turned back to Naruto and paused as he watched him accept two swords from a fellow crewmate. Dumbly catching the one that was thrown at him, Sasuke stared at it while the singing of metal rang out as Naruto unsheathed his from its scabbard. Fumbling to do the same, Sasuke struggled to remember what little he was taught about sword fighting aside from the pointy end going into the opponent.

Naruto's attack came as a completely surprise, but even as Sasuke scrambled to ready himself, time seemed to slow down as he saw blue eyes widen at the realization that Sasuke wasn't defending himself properly. The banded tattoos around Naruto's upper arms seemed to expand as muscles flexed in an effort to pull back and lessen the blow.

Sasuke's hand still stung from the vibrato that rang out as their swords met and held.

"Obviously a sword wasn't involved in any of your fantasies to kill me," Naruto teased, keeping the pressure on for a moment longer before dancing back. His next jab was mockingly slower and Sasuke countered it with ease, batting the blade aside.

"I'd rather do it with my bare hands," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto snorted and his assaults gradually quickened in pace. "If you were really angry enough to kill, you should be able to make any weapon work to your advantage." He knocked aside a feeble thrust with more force than was probably necessary. "Fix your stance!" he barked out. "Throw your body into your attacks!"

Annoyance flared within Sasuke at the audacity Naruto had to be giving him advice. Worse still was that it was sound advice, but even as he tried to follow it, his attacks were still being blocked almost effortlessly.

"Come on!" Naruto yelled angrily. "This is getting us nowhere!"

Sasuke mentally agreed and finally gave up. Tossing the sword aside, he ignored the clatter as his eyes flitted about for a better weapon, coming to rest on a dagger strapped to someone's hip. Darting forward, he made a grab for it only to be stopped by a strong grip on his wrist. Head snapping up, he found himself face-to-face with the pirate from earlier who had been sitting next to him on the barrel. Before Sasuke could even finish narrowing his eyes, the man released him, hands raised in defeat as he allowed for his dagger to be borrowed.

Rather than mock Sasuke for his choice in such a small weapon, Naruto watched him warily, the both of them ignoring the surrounding cheers as they circled one another.

Remembering the spar from earlier, Sasuke adjusted his grip accordingly, noting how the subtle change caused the dagger to feel more balanced in his hand. He dropped his stance a bit lower, causing Naruto to frown as he took in the adjustments Sasuke was making to his style.

Figuring Naruto wasn't about to attack first this time, Sasuke darted forward, swiping the blade in front of his body just in time to counter his opponent's block. He recalled exactly what to do to turn this situation to his favor. Sliding his foot to the side, he twisted his wrist and pivoted a half turn, forcing his shoulder forward. The move was a success and he broke past Naruto's guard and knocked him into a pile of crates. His follow-up attack stopped inches away from Naruto's tanned neck where it was awkwardly being blocked by the hilt of his sword.

"Where did you learn that?" Naruto demanded, brows drawn together in suspicion as his gaze moved from the dagger up to his attacker.

A dark grin formed on Sasuke's face as he realized he was using a fighting style that Naruto was more than likely weak against. He moved back and gave Naruto room to stand, taking immense satisfaction in the way the blond adjusted his defenses with a scowl as Sasuke dropped back into the same stance as before. No time was wasted as the fight began anew and it was all Naruto could do to block the Uchiha's attacks and keep him from getting close enough to pull another almost-fatal move.

"Haku, have you been training him?" Naruto asked incredulously as he once again recognized one of the said almost-fatal moves just in time to avoid it.

"Zabuza and I sparred in front of him earlier," Haku admitted in awe from the front of the sidelines.

"How much earlier? Several days?" Naruto stumbled as he overestimated the amount of force Sasuke put into his thrust, his attention suddenly being diverted away from the battle. "A week?"

"More like this morning?" Haku offered with a nervous smile.

Naruto's jaw dropped and his arms fell uselessly to his side in shock. "A few _hours_?" He turned to stare at Sasuke who seemed too busy gawking at Haku to notice.

Naruto blinked and then began to laugh as he realized just why Sasuke was so distracted. "You thought he was a girl, didn't you?"

The light dusting of pink across pale cheeks as others began to laugh as well was enough of an answer.

"Don't worry, it's happened to the best of us," Naruto reassured with a good-natured grin.

The glare he received informed him that his sympathy was unwanted. Naruto offered a half shrug in return, taking advantage of the moment to attack. He focused on disarming Sasuke, putting more energy into his strength rather than his agility. While Zabuza's muscles obviously played to his favor, his matches with Haku generally focused more on agility than anything else. Sure enough, the forcible change soon left Sasuke at a loss of how to properly defend himself without running the risk of overexertion.

Within minutes, Sasuke's blade was skittering across the deck, leaving him to duck and dodge in vain as he scrambled about trying to find something else to fight with. His next choice in weapon wasn't nearly as practical as the first. Even as he held it up, Sasuke knew it was futile and ducked as Naruto swung.

A hush fell over the ship as the head of the mop fell to the deck with a muffled thump. Both Sasuke and Naruto froze, staring at the decapitated stick with wide, guilty eyes. When no reprimand was forthcoming, they chanced a look around and spotted Kakashi amongst the crowd, journal tucked under his arm as he calmly watched the fight.

A pleased smile flashed across Naruto's face as he flipped his sword so that the blunt end faced out. Without meaning to, Sasuke returned the gesture with a challenging smirk of his own, twirling the wooden pole with ease. He had trained with Bo staffs back home and finally had more than a smidgeon of confidence in what he was doing.

The two raised their weapons and charged, and this time Sasuke was able to do more than just defend. Things still weren't completely on equal grounds, but before Sasuke had a chance to pull forward and completely bring the fight into his favor, a cry of "Land, ho!" rang out over the crowd. In a flash, Naruto had once again disarmed Sasuke, leaving the captive to look around in confusion as to where his staff had even landed.

"Not bad," Naruto panted out in congratulations, giving Sasuke a pat on the back as he walked by, gathering up his stuff before making his way through the dispersing crew to head below deck.

Sasuke remained still for a moment as he slowly came to realize that at some point, their fight had turned into more of a friendly spar. Anger heated his body and he began to storm forward, fully intent on catching up to Naruto and strangling the life out of him from behind when he was grabbed by several pairs of strong hands and once again hauled back to the mast.

* * *

**Random Fact**: This chapter was completely unplanned until I watched Narnia's Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And then I was like "OMG! Fight scene! BRILLIANT!" Aaaand then I actually had to WRITE the fight scenes and realized it was a stupid idea.

**Public Announcement**: Last chapter, I received a lot of reviews asking me for when the sex is going to happen and who's going to top. Well… not exactly a lot, but enough for me to realize I need to address the issue. This story will be mainly bromantic with a probable heavy helping of UST on the side. I really don't have plans on making Naruto and Sasuke an official couple. This doesn't mean it won't be gay or have intimacy or light eroticism. It just means there more than likely won't be any sex, heavy petting, or kissing. To anyone who won't continue reading this as a result, I am sorry.


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